White House Speechwriter Wins Comedy Contest With TSA Jokes, Huffington Impression

Washington D.C.’s celebrities are not like everybody else’s celebrities. At the city’s Funniest Celebrity competition last night, the contenders included political insiders like Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington state and tax-reform advocate Grover Norquist. But those shining stars were no match for White House speechwriter Jon Lovett, who won the contest by impersonating Arianna Huffington, calling Mr. Norquist gay, and cracking TSA jokes. “Virgin America,” one joke went, “had to change their name to Technically Still A Virgin America.” Hey-o!

And he had more airport-security quips up his button-up shirt’s sleeve. He deemed the TSA a good opportunity for “defrocked priests to get their lives back together, give back to the community, lend a … well, not lend a hand, but you know.” Double zing!

“Our next president” Sarah Palin and Daily Caller’s Tucker Carlson were also among his targets, which generated healthy chuckles from his politically savvy audience. But most of the laughs came when he fielded questions as Arianna Huffington, an impersonation that riffed on her famous accent and name-dropping tendencies.

Lovett’s victory makes the Obama Administration two-for-two in D.C.’s Funniest Celebrity competition—Politico notes that Austan Goolsbee, the White House’s top economic advisor, won the honors last year.

Watch seven minutes of insider-y stand-up from Washington’s Funniest Celebrity in the video below. (h/t Politico)

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